NemesisC5

Something of note that I haven't read before. In auto mode the shifts are quick but using the paddle shifters it has a delay. Below is excerpt from article in link at bottom.


"Needless to say the new eight-speed automatic works at the track, but this should come with a caveat – don’t touch the paddles. The software engineering has been so well sorted out that the computer is calling for gears in advance to the driver actually needing them, so when the change occurs it’s at the exact right moment. Since this is a “regular” automatic, using the paddle shifters to “manually” select a gear is followed by a lengthy delay.

It’s the one thing a conventional automatic cannot match compared to a dual clutch transmission (DCT), the response time from a driver’s input to the physical gear change. Sure the new eight-speed can change gears lightning quick, but a DCT has already pre-loaded the next gear and can react to a new input much faster. I will say that response time does feel quicker from the Corvette’s eight-speed automatic than the eight-speed autos I’ve recently sampled, including in the Jaguar F-Type."

http://www.autoguide.com/manufacture...view-4080.html

r1owner

That's a bummer.

Glenn Quagmire

Kinda takes some of the fun out of it. I do a lot of sim racing and like the dct element and feedback.

harlold

So, "Faster than a PDK" when you aren't touching the paddles is more of an accurate statement?

rrm

I would wait until we have a number of reviews before passing judgment...rrm

harlold

Don't get me wrong, I'll be ordering the A8 with paddles, but I think Chevy should be called out for it if that has been one of their biggest "bragging" rights, that it is faster than the PDK...

NSC5

I have seen the review but the same perceived results would be achieved by someone who doesn't initiate the paddle shift at the proper point. At WOT in the lower gears things are happening very quickly in human terms although not in terms of electronics. Under full computer control the transmission can and will shift at exactly the right point to hit the next gear for best acceleration. But for the relatively slow human there is a lag between recognizing the need to shift (generally visually based upon the tach) and then executing the muscular command to move the paddle.

Once the command is sent either to the computer via paddle input or fully internally generated by the computer then the actual shift speed should be the same since the mechanics of selecting the proper clutch pack(s) are identical. The difference would occur when multiple gears should be skipped and the controlling program would immediately select the proper set rather than waiting for the relatively slow human to hit a paddle three times to send the command for a 5 to 2 downshift.

Once real owners get these cars we will get a lot more information. But when you are looking at very fast shift times you need instrumentation and not reviewer perception for measurement because perception is often wrong. I remember reading one of the earlier German auto reviews and while the transmission's sport mode programming felt much faster to reviewers (it slammed through the gears) the true shift speeds were faster in an alternate mode but they didn't feel nearly as fast to drivers.

TKOGTO

Seems like the A8 on track will be a compromise between slow paddle downshifts and the software occasionally changing you into a gear you do not want. I think I can deal with the former as I will know when it will occur. If there is a randomness to the latter, I can't see letting the programming do the work.

Robert R1

It's not a DCT. Just accept that in Auto mode it'll perform much better than using the paddles and you can avoid the next 50 pages and follow up threads.

musclecar6

This review came out last week with this guy's take that there was a lag in manual. Since other reviewers did NOT have that take and one in particular reported that the paddle responsiveness in manual was virtually indistinguishable from the dual clutches he had driven and that it would take a machine to discern any difference. It's possible this reviewer has a pro dual clutch/ euro ride bias and was sticking it to the corvette in his maybe completely erroneous commentary. I wouldn't jump to any conclusions until at least we start getting some solid user feedback from the 2015 A8 owners who are about to start taking delivery. Some of them will have A6 and or dual clutch experience in Porsche's, BMW's etc to compare the A8 to.

JRRSA

More incentive to get the (reference Jay Leno) "proper gearbox" with three pedals. Then you can actually drive the car vs. relying on the computer to do what you hope it will do.

glass slipper

This article has already been hashed out in another thread...

Craigy

Exactly.

If might be a great auto transmission, which is great for buyers who want an auto transmission, but Chevy's saying it's "faster than PDK" or otherwise indicating it's as good or better than a dual clutch box is a flat lie.

TTRotary

Clumsy wordsmithing by author. The delay is not in the trans, but between the driver's eyes and the finger on the paddle. He is trying to explain that the trans logic buidls this delay expectation into the instruction. The basic premise here is the trans will deliver faster lap times in auto mode for most drivers, but the paddles are more fun.

I have a feeling people are going to be shocked at the lap times the A8 Z06 can produce in full auto mode... the 'Ring time will be a revelation.

JackTripper

Crap! I am still leaning toward the 8-Speed still. So much for a faster than PDK experience. Hopefully, GM is working on a fix.

JoesC5

That's not how I read this sentence from the author..." using the paddle shifters to “manually” select a gear is followed by a lengthy delay".

I read that as after the paddle is operated by the driver, there is a lengthy delay before the transmission shifts the gear.

Craigy

+1

The author clearly says using the paddle shifters to manually select a gear is followed by a lengthy delay.

Which is a given with any torque converter automatic transmission.

There is no crisp, instant upshift on demand.

sam90lx

Bingo !!!

It is still a Converter based Trans.

musclecar6

My tranny in my 2012 CTS-V A6 shifts very quickly when I use the paddles in manual, especially on a WOT aceleration run. The A6 in the 2014 C7 is an even more improved version of my A6. So you guys think the A8 is going to be a step backwards in manual, and GM set it up to have significant lag ? I find that hard to believe. Well, we'll know the answer shortly.

Blvdbrawler

I had the paddle shifters on my C6 and I noticed the same thing. Now this trans clearly is an upgrade but I got a bad taste in mouth and going with a manual this go around. Plus I just missed being able to do all the fun stuff with a stick opposed to an auto.